Qatar Tribune - Gulf MiddleEast

Rio de Janeiro: Brazil has surpassed India as the worlds country with the second-highest coronavirus caseload according to official figures.
The Health Ministry inBrasilia said 85663 new coronavirus infections were reported on Friday bringing the total number of cases to 11363380 - compared to around 11333000 in India which had previously occupied the second spot.
The Health

AFP
Colombo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Chinas Communist government a predator on Wednesday as he sought to tempt Sri Lanka away from Beijings influence and later bolstered the US diplomatic presence in the neighbouring Maldives to counter the Asian superpower.
Sri Lanka and the Maldives both strategically located on key Indian Ocean trade routes have borrowe

AFP
Qamishli
The Kurdish-led forces controlling northeast Syria on Thursday freed more than 600 Syrian prisoners detained over links to the Islamic State jihadist group.
The 631 detainees had been held on terrorism charges and were the first batch released in an amnesty deal announced recently following calls from Arab tribes in eastern Syria.
The Kurdish administration in northeas

AFP
NEW YORK
Saudi Arabia failed in its bid to become a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday as China and Russia were elected to three-year terms. Human rights groups hailed the snub to Riyadh which deals a blow to the kingdoms attempts to improve its image in the international community.
The #HRC elections today delivered a stunning rebuke to #SaudiArabi

AFP
Baghdad
Iraqs health ministry said on Wednesday that more than 10000 people have died from COVID-19 in the country whose threadbare health sector has been battered by the virus.
Iraq has registered more than 413000 cases and the total death toll now stands at 10021 the ministry said. Baghdad recently lifted restrictions and reopened mosques shops and cafes but has kept its

NAQURA: Lebanon and Israel still technically at war held unprecedented talks under UN and US auspices on Wednesday to settle a maritime border dispute and clear the way for oil and gas exploration within reasonable time.
In a joint statement afterwards the United States and the United Nations said the talks had been productive and that the delegates had reaffirmed their commi

AFP
Tehran
Iran on Wednesday announced temporary travel restrictions on five major cities including Tehran as the country hit new single-day records in both COVID-19 deaths and new infections.
As well as the capital the measures include banning travel to and from Karaj Mashhad Isfahan and Urmia the health ministrys Kianoush Jahanpour told state television.
It runs from midni

Tribune News Network
Doha
PEOPLE in Jordan are demanding tougher laws to punish the perpetrators of a brutal assault on a 16-year-old boy that caused widespread outrage across the country.
The hideous crime happened in Zarqa city east of Amman on Tuesday.
The teenager was brutally assaulted by a group of men who chopped off both his hands and mutilated his face apparently in re

AFP
Damascus
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared a national catastrophe on Tuesday after inspecting crops destroyed by wildfires that have ravaged his countrys Mediterranean coastal belt.
As many as 25000 people have been forced to flee their homes the United Nations said in a new blow for a region which is a mainstay of support for Assads government.
The fires whic

DPA
Beirut/Tel Aviv
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesdaythat maritime border talks with Israel will tackle technical issues only indicating it is not a step toward a normalisation of ties.
The negotiations will be technical and talks should be limited to this particular issue only Aoun was quoted as saying by his office on the eve of the discussions. He held s